Modelux Website/Instructions

[47406]

Ironic timing.... I just got my 3-road shed kits out last night to start work on them & was re-reading the instructions... after having just finished the 2nd suspension bridge kit !

Drop me a PM with your email and I'll send them your way :-)

[StuartN]

I attach a pdf fil for a footbridge if anyone is interested.

However I don't understand it, particularly how to fit the small stairs.

ModelBridge.pdf

[StuartN]

Its worse than that - the pdf file is rubbish.

I cannot recommend Modelux, despite the fact the models look good in photos.

[Darren Partridge]

I recently bought a selection of Modelux kits via eBay and the service was excellent - the models are exquisite and a joy to make and Gillian was very attentive and courteous and sent all the instructions straight away. These really are superb kits, incredibly fine and cleverly designed, they look quite literally like the real thing that has been shrunk down to scale: most other structure kits look crude and incongruous by comparison, very highly recommended! 

[Sidney]

Hi, has anyone got the instructions for the N Gauge Modelux Gantry Crane (ML-N-GC-01) and the Acle Footbridge (ML-N-BR-12) - just got hold of the kits and there are no instructions in the sealed packets! Many thanks Chris

[ChrisBwc]

Oops. It appears I have bought a kit from one of the aliases above. I need the instructions for a 2 track Victorian engine shed. 
 

does anybody have these instructions?

[Station Approach]

Would anyone be able to send me the instutions for the oo Victorian suspension bridge ? Thanks in advance . 

 

Steve

[Peter749]

I notice the website is again in use and I thought about getting a low relief warehouse

https://www.modelux.store/

 

https://www.modelux.store/product-page/york-warehouse-one-low-relief-kit

 

Peter

[mikeyk]

I would avoid Modelux like the plague. Ordered a kit from them three weeks ago via their, then working, website, got an acknowledgement, stating they would contact me again when the kit was despatched. Since then, nothing has been received. Facebook messages, and emails to them, are unanswered, a forum PM to this lady Gillian, who has some connection to them is unread. The website is effectively down, and it looks as though they have no intention of sending me the kit, or refunding the money. I paid via PayPal, so will lodge a complaint with them shortly, and see if there is anything they can do.

 

All very disappointing, and if anyone has any advice to give, then I would be very grateful.

 

*** UPDATE ***

 

Lodged a complaint with PayPal regarding non delivery and non communication. In the process I was given the email address of the person behind the website. Further research reveals that the gentleman has made a number of YouTube videos under a 'nickname'. Some detailing construction of Modelux kits. However, I think this chap is not the original designer/maker of the range.

Edited April 23, 2023 by mikeyk
Extra information added

[Porfuera]

5 hours ago, mikeyk said:

All very disappointing, and if anyone has any advice to give, then I would be very grateful.

 

Not really advice, just my current experience. Having read through this thread I decided to still give them a go. My thoughts were that as I wasn't spending a huge amount I would see how it went and I could always claim a refund on PayPal if the models didn't turn up. Also I wasn't desperate to use the kits immediately so I could afford to wait a while if they took time to arrive.

 

So a couple of weeks ago (Sunday 10th April) I ordered the Gainsborough and York Warehouse Kits in TT:120 (via eBay as TT:120 doesn't appear to be listed on their website). The estimated delivery date was 13th to 15th April but nothing arrived in that time.

 

Then on the16th April (last Sunday and one week after ordering) I received an 'order update' saying that my order was being posted. Still nothing arrived. I was going to give them two weeks before contacting them (i.e. tomorrow) but yesterday morning I received an email contact from eBay as follows (this was from eBay user sawo_9014 - no name was given):

 

"Apologies, we appear to have had some items go missing. We moved to a new drip and go system and they didn’t provide tracking. Some have arrived and others haven’t. If you can let me know if yours has arrived please."

 

According to Google it should be "drop and go" 😄 (a new phrase to me) but in any event I was able to reply immediately saying that I hadn't yet received my order and by mid-afternoon I received the reply "Ok I will arrange for replacements to be sent on Monday".

 

So the upshot is that I'm still waiting but given that it was Modelux that contacted me (via eBay user sawo_9014) then I'm still hopeful.

 

I seems to me that these days we're all accustomed to lots of communication from sellers, tracked deliveries and purchases arriving within days or at most a week but Modelux seem to be a bit like eBay sellers from 10 or 15 years ago in that there isn't much communication, the postage doesn't seem to be tracked (but then it is free) and things take a while to turn up. In addition they seem to be trialling a new despatch system and I'm taking them at their word that something went wrong with that. Plus anyone that is trying to model in Hornby's TT:120 at the moment is pretty used to the frustrations of slipped deadlines with delays of weeks and months to release schedules and therefore a bit of a wait for a couple of kits is small beer in comparison to that.

 

So at the moment I'm staying calm and as I say I'm still hopeful that something will turn up. As to how good the instruction are (or whether they are included at all) then I'm thinking that they are just a pair of low-relief warehouse kits so how hard can they be to assemble? I probably wouldn't pay much attention to them anyway, although I guess they're always useful as a check that everything is present and correct.

 

I'll keep you posted...

 

Cheers, Neil.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Porfuera

[mikeyk]

Many thanks Neil for the details of your experience, so far.

 

I ordered through the website, but paid an extra £5 for postage for the kit I ordered. The Modelux website email address, glynn@modelux.store, corresponds with the forename of the chap named by PayPal as the man that my money was sent to. Whether or not this chap, Glynn, is the same person as sawo_9014 on eBay is anyone's guess. I wonder if 'drop & go' is being used by a variety of people selling Modelux kits? 

 

It's all very odd to be honest. I was able to find out more about this Glynn chap, using publicly available info that he has posted himself. I think he perhaps, with others, is just acting as a store front for the chap that actually designs and produces, and maybe despatches, the kits. Anyway, he is the man that got my money, and has so far failed to send the kit, or respond to my queries.

 

PayPal will refund my money in due course as I paid via them, but I could have potentially lost £33 if I had paid by another method.

 

I don't expect super quick service from a one man band doing it as a hobby, and I fully appreciate that the kits have to be laser cut, and overlays printed etc, but a quick email giving an update is not hard to do nowadays. Especially when the customer has made repeated efforts to contact the vendor.

 

I compare this experience to one I had with Captain Shrapnel, who I ordered a model off a few days ago. Fantastic service which included frequent updates on the order progress, tracking number, estimated time of delivery etc. The seller did indicate that he was on holiday during the time I ordered, and there would be a delay, but there was no delay at all in my case. And this guy is also a one man band, not a big company.

 

I hope, Neil, you get your kit soon 🤞

Edited April 23, 2023 by mikeyk

[Porfuera]

1 hour ago, mikeyk said:

It's all very odd to be honest. I was able to find out more about this Glynn chap, using publicly available info that he has posted himself. I think he perhaps, with others, is just acting as a store front for the chap that actually designs and produces, and maybe despatches, the kits. Anyway, he is the man that got my money, and has so far failed to send the kit, or respond to my queries.

 

Interesting - I hadn't considered that multiple people might be selling these kits because I wouldn't have thought that there was enough money in it but maybe you're right.

 

The Modelux website is a bit pants (to say the least) and I can't find an address for them on there but according to UKModelShops, in August 2021 Modelux was located in Retford (near Nottingham) but my eBay seller is offering collection from Ripon, which is about 70 miles away from Retford. That would be quite a long commute so I'd guess either Modelux has moved in the interim or as you suggest they are two different people. Unfortunately my PayPal payment was made to "eBay Commerce" so there is no information to be had from that.

 

My eBay seller has a 98.6% approval rating out of 625 reviews - maybe not brilliant but I've bought from worse so I'm still feeling reasonably relaxed about the purchase. Good luck with your PayPal refund - I hope it turns up soon.

 

Cheers, Neil.

[mikeyk]

Just for fun I went through the eBay listings for Modelux kits:

 

Three sellers, but maybe only two in reality?

 

railwaymodelsuk - Newark & Retford

sawo_9014 - Ripon

uk-bridge-tech - Retford

 

This Glynn chap has lived in Newark & Retford according to the publicly available info.

 

Fingers crossed I get a refund soon, and your kit turns up.

 

[mikeyk]

Re the non delivery of my Modelux kit, and claim for a refund, I have now received full reimbursement from PayPal.

 

There has still not been any response to my various messages to the seller, which is disgraceful. 

[Porfuera]

My two Modelux kits arrived earlier today, although I think I probably bought from an eBay (re)seller rather than direct from Modelux - hard to tell as it all seems a bit murky.

 

It took nearly three weeks for them to arrive but there had been a problem with the sellers new "drop and go" postal service (a service offered by the Post Office I think), which the seller proactively contacted me about and when I said they hadn't arrived the seller resent them without quibbling.

 

The only problem I can see is that although the kits are supposed to be TT:120, the one on the left says "gauge 00" although all the other bits of the labelling are marked "TT" and both kits look to be roughly the same scale so I'm assuming this is just a typo on the label. In any event that would be down to Modelux rather than the eBay seller.

 

I did open the one on the left just to check and I found that the instructions are a single sheet of A4 and are minimalist to say the least. I think it will require a bit of head scratching to get that one built. I don't dare open the one on the right until I'm going to build it because there are an awful lot of small bit which I don't want to lose.

 

However, from what I've seen, the finish on the brickwork and the roof tiles looks fantastic. Snazzy packaging, too. Such a pity that the manufacturer seems to be intent on giving themselves a bit of a bad reputation.

 

Cheers, Neil.

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Porfuera

[Porfuera]

Update: I just found the following inside the envelope - it might be of use to someone...

 

[mikeyk]

Very pleased to hear that your kit has arrived Neil. As you say the whole thing is very murky. That email address is one of the three that I emailed, but no response from. Oh well, I have at least had my money refunded by PayPal, but I won't risk it again. 

[PeterStiles]

Darn

Bought two and had no real issues, all pieces, instructions etc... bought a couple more and, lo and behold, no instructions. Grr. Arg.

 

 

Oh. Yes .. and no roof. Bother(*)

 

 

(*) Word adjusted from actual word spoken...

Edited December 17, 2023 by PeterStiles

[RailwayLacky]

just to update this thread, i purchased some modelux kits on ebay and parts were missing, got ignored on eBay until i left neg feedback, they responded to feedback that they would refund and send new kit. this didn't happen so sent the lot back and  wont be dealing with them again. such a shame but here we are! :(

[RailwayLacky]

On 27/04/2023 at 21:59, mikeyk said:

Re the non delivery of my Modelux kit, and claim for a refund, I have now received full reimbursement from PayPal.

 

There has still not been any response to my various messages to the seller, which is disgraceful. 

 

not the only one i see :( glad you got sorted, its a shame as nice kits!

[kentish]

Anyone had any luck more recently with them?

I ordered 2 kits through their website end of last year - stupidly didn't check them item for item and now when i have come round to build them they're missing various parts.

 

Spoke to their person on instagram about it - and had a couple of emails from a guy called Toby (answers to that post@modelux.store email) - but they have since gone silent.

 

Real shame as their kits are beautiful - but cannot complete the West Malling station as it's missing an entire side. The Cheltenham rail shed is not as bad - but still looks a bit odd as is missing bits on top of roof.

Daft of them to not have better customer service as had been eyeing up a number of their kits -  so will now look elsewhere

[DoogC]

Greetings from Ontario, Canada!

 

I am looking for insights into Modelux- the kit manufacturer. I purchased goods 3 weeks ago after having an email exchange with Toby Wood who claimed they routinely shipped to Canada. I didn't get a postal tracking number, but Toby replied to that enquiry and assured me he'd get it for me. Then Dead silence to all contact.

 

This morning I tried to reach them by phone (# displayed on their web page) and the line had been "no longer in service".

 

I'm open to any form of feedback- I will file a dispute with Visa 30 days after the March 30 purchase. Thx, Doug